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At numerous points in the Episodes II and III, they refer to Padme's hypothetical future child in the singular.

Besides the obvious out-of-universe explanation that Vader needed to be unaware of the fate of the children (and their number), how is it possible, with all the technology depicting in the Star Wars series, and with Anakin's Force sensitivity, that Padme (and therefore Anakin) or Anakin (and therfore Padme) not be informed she was going to bear twins?

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  • This is something I have always wondered also. There is the fact (as the answer says) that Padme didn't want to know. But then surely Jedi have the ability to sense the presence of others. Surely Anakin should have been able to sense two babies if not their genders etc...?
    – Fogmeister
    Commented Dec 10, 2015 at 0:07
  • My sister and I are twins, and our parents didn't know until my mother had been in labor for over 12 hours and they took an X-ray to figure out what the problem was. Granted, this was four decades ago. Let's just say, ultrasounds were not nearly as ubiquitous as they are now.
    – Martha
    Commented Jan 21, 2016 at 2:00

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According to novelization (Disney canon), the reason for not knowing about twins - or even baby's sex - was that she wanted to be surprised:

“He?” Anakin asked mildly. “I thought you’d ordered your medical droid not to spoil the surprise.”

“Oh, I didn’t get this from the Emdee. It’s my …” Her smile went softly sly. “… motherly intuition.”

He felt a sudden pulse against his palm and laughed. “Motherly intuition, huh? With a kick that hard? Definitely a girl.”

(ROTS novelization by Matthew Stover, Chapter 12, "Not from a Jedi")

Please note that this is quite a normal thing in earth medical practice even today, when we have ultrasound. Tons of people I know chose not to find out. I assume medical doctors on Earth would at least say something about the twins for medical-risk reasons, but then again he's a human being, NOT a "medical droid" who can be ordered to shut up.

Apparently, she never did find out and kept it a surprise:

“If it’s a girl …,” she gasped, “name her Leia …”

One of the surgical droids circled out from behind the tent, cradling in its padded arms a tiny infant, already swabbed clean and breathing, but without even the hint of tears.

The droid announced softly, “It’s a boy.”

Padmé reached for him with her trembling free hand, but she had no strength to take him; she could only touch her fingers to the baby’s forehead.

She smiled weakly. “Luke …”

(ROTS novelization by Matthew Stover, Chapter 21, "A New Jedi Order")

...

Disney Junior Novelization of ROTS by Patricia C. Wrede is even more explicit in that she did NOT even consult a medical droid in the first place:

Padmé laughed. “He keeps kicking.”
“He?” Anakin’s eyes widened. “Why do you think it’s a boy?”
“My motherly intuition,” Padmé teased. Even if she’d consulted a medical droid, she wouldn’t have asked. Wondering whether she carried a boy or a girl had been one of the few, secret pleasures she had during the long months Anakin had been away.

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    I don't understand the second series of quotes. I see it's from the novelization but is it the same scene or different scenes you've combined into one? Otherwise it seems like Anakin is present at the birth
    – NKCampbell
    Commented Dec 9, 2015 at 19:05
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    @NathanK.Campbell - check the chapter #s please :). But I reversed the quotes now to avoid confusion :)
    – DVK-on-Ahch-To
    Commented Dec 9, 2015 at 19:07
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    Well, I was going to post an answer, but didn't have the source links to back it - but you do! I was going to say: "It doesn't seem like too much of a stretch to imagine that Padme didn't want to know that kind of information. (Possibly similar to how some couples today don't want to know whether it is a boy or girl before-hand and others do) - Assuming a droid does the check-up, it may take the "keep it a surprise" request a bit too seriously
    – DoubleDouble
    Commented Dec 9, 2015 at 19:10
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    @Richard - you'll have to back that up with a citation from a novelization.
    – DVK-on-Ahch-To
    Commented Dec 9, 2015 at 20:12
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    At what point in a fetus's development do they become individually distinguishable by Force powers? It's possible that you'd get your signals crossed between the two babies and the mother's own life force. Then again, we already know that Anakin-as-Vader was not able to detect Leia's relationship to him even as a fully-grown adult in Ep. IV despite being 3 feet away from her in the same room, while he could sense Luke from a great distance. Maybe she's just not as easy to read using Force powers...
    – Darrel Hoffman
    Commented Dec 9, 2015 at 22:40

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